Hardware group MAIT wants government to remove disabilities to achieve net zero imports

India has a multitude of taxes and duties imposed by both the Central and State Governments for IT-ESDM manufacturers and due to their flawed structure, these taxes often discriminate against domestically manufactured products, MAIT said.

NEW DELHI: Hardware industry group Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) has said the government must remove disabilities such as a multitude of taxes and duties in order to achieve its aim of net zero imports by 2020.

India has a multitude of taxes and duties imposed by both the Central and State Governments for IT-ESDM manufacturers and due to their flawed structure, these taxes often discriminate against domestically manufactured products, MAIT said in a statement Wednesday .

These disabilities, according to the group, include cost of manufacturing which is estimated to be higher in India vis-à-vis other global hubs. These are on account of physical factors such as higher costs of power, real estate, logistics, additional expenses on account of freight, as well as fiscal factors.

MAIT, in its findings, also proposed tax policy interventions in the immediate and short terms that can lower the disabilities, reignite the growth in this sector and help it to contribute to India's vision of 'Make in India' and net zero imports.

“Within the manufacturing sector, the growth of the IT-ESDM industry is critical for realising the goals of 'Make in India' and 'Digital India' launched by the government, and help establish India as a worldwide PC market by 2020," Nitin Kunkolienker, Vice President, MAIT and Director at Smartlink said.

The group said that it is estimated that for every million units of production, approximately 660 people are employed directly on the assembly side and another 2,640 in components manufacturing.

"The government should definitely look at all opportunities that make this accessibility to technology in general, and PCs in particular, possible for the end consumer.

Achieving this feat would require effective policy making and implementation, and collaboration with technology players who can create solutions that fit into this policy framework, to ultimately benefit the citizens," Intel Marketing & Market Development, Sandeep Aurora said.

The government is eyeing to cut imports on electronics goods to net zero by 2020.

Priyadarshi Mohapatra Country General Manager, CCG at Microsoft said that PC penetration in India is at a mere 9%, while Sri Lanka is at 12% and China at 50%. “With the government prioritizing initiatives such as 'Digital India' and 'Skill India', making technology more accessible is an imperative,” he added.

Duty differential policy for PC manufacturing can go a long way in utilizing hitherto unutilized capacities, and further creating a sustainable IT hardware manufacturing ecosystem for the long-term. The success story of smartphone manufacturing can be replicated for PCs and servers in this manner," Rahul Agarwal, Managing Director of Lenovo India said.

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